When you play at casinos, you often accrue comp points or dollars to use while visiting the casino. When you play online, you also have the chance to earn as well.
But for some players, they just don’t have the need for all these extra comp dollars. Maybe they get enough food credit just on their offer and already get comped hotel rooms. Maybe they’re just bigger players and the accrual rate is such that they just don’t need all of them. (It certainly doesn’t hurt that for many casino programs, higher tiers means a faster earning rate.)
With expiration always a possibility, and inflation making those points worth less day by day, sometimes it makes sense to find other opportunities for them.
The good news is you’re not necessarily stuck spending all your comps on $300 sushi rolls (yes, they exist) to get rid of them. Here’s some other ways you can take advantage of your comp dollars when you have some sitting in an account.
Free Play
Some casinos offer the opportunity to convert your comp dollars to free play. With free play, you only need to play it through once, and then you can keep the amount converted as cash or keep playing – it’s up to you. Given that’s a perk you accrued, that can be a great bonus and reward for some players.
Sometimes, like at Caesars properties, the conversions can be subpar at 2:1. But depending on your local property, you can also take advantage of special promotions where the conversion amount is improved to 1:1, so it’s important to know the standard conversion rate, and watch promos to see if they ever offer a booster.
And sometimes, you’ll find your comp dollars can’t be converted to free play at all. MGM Rewards maintains a separate Slot Dollars bucket which you also accrue, but that means you can’t convert your MGM Rewards Points to Slot Dollars – they’re treated as separate and distinct.
Transfer to Another Program
Increasingly casinos are partnering with other companies, such as hotels, and with that link are sometimes offering the ability to convert points from one program to another.
The two largest casino programs offer this:
- Reward Credits earned with Caesars can be converted to Wyndham’s points and vice versa, given their partnership
- MGM Rewards Points earned with MGM Resorts can be converted to Marriott Bonvoy points, and vice versa, thanks to their partnership. (BetMGM Reward Points can also be converted to Marriott Bonvoy points.)
It’s always important to check the conversion rates, because there can be a value reduction that happens as part of the swap. Still, if you don’t have a real use for them at the casino, unlocking their value by moving it to a problem you could use it can be a savvy opportunity!
Gift Cards & Merchandise
Some casinos let you take your comp dollars and shop for merchandise or gift cards, just as you can with some credit cards and the points you earn there.
Sometimes the way to get there can be a bit of an obstacle course. Caesars Sportsbook, their online app, lets you buy branded merch and gift cards with your Reward Credits, but that same offer isn’t available in other ways for non sportsbook users (particularly in states that don’t offer it).
If you’re really stretching, MGM Reward Points could be converted to Marriott and then to gift cards, but with two devaluations through that process we’d advise against it unless you really had no other reason to use them (and most casino players will have some sort of trip coming up, but again if comps are covering it all this would still offer a direction to find some value).
Takeaway
We recommend exploring the various opportunities your casino rewards program offers, so you can fully make use of your comp dollars! Any use that reduces your spend or gives you something of value is a great way to be rewarded for casino play you’re already doing.
